Why buy wine from us?

There are lots of good wine merchants out there - from online only to bricks and mortar. So why buy wine from Stone, Vine & Sun? Well, we really care about what we sell. Wine to us is not a commodity, it’s a way of life, but let’s explore that:

• For a small business we spend far too much time travelling to buy wine, in particular on the road, whether on Ruta 5 in Chile or the RN74 in Burgundy. We visit many wineries and domaines to no avail, but have made many stunning discoveries over the years. We see ourselves as prospecting for treasure.

• We are guided by our founding philosophy. Stone, Vine & Sun was named after the three most important influences on a bunch of grapes, and therefore wine: the earth, the plant and the weather. It reflects our belief that wines should have a sense of place (and not come from some huge industrial facility!).

• Most of our wines - many exclusive to SVS in the UK market - come from independent, family-owned producers. These folk in turn care about the husbandry of their land, and are increasingly adopting sustainable, organic or bio-dynamic methods of cultivation.

• …But we are not tied to our suppliers: we don’t "represent" anyone, so we don’t have to buy their wine in a terrible vintage and then cynically push it to you (believe me, other merchants do!)

• We are very focused on delivering value. In particular we offer a wide range of wines at £8-£16 a bottle, as that is where we believe the sweet spot is for quality and value (You could argue that a £16 bottle is twice as good as an £8 bottle; but it’s much harder to argue that a £32 bottle is twice as good as a £16 bottle).

• We all drink lots of wine - arguably too much. We talk about what we have drunk in the office, we argue about the merits of particular wines. If you want more advice call us!